Post on 25-Jun-2020
Quality Indicators for Distance Education in
Nursing Diane M. Billings, EdD, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus
Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis
Session Overview
u Importance of quality in nursing DE programs
u Quality indicators and how to determine if they are met
u Conclusions, concerns, caveats
u Summary
u Questions
Quality in Distance Education
Quality Matters
u Assure public
u Recruit and retain students
u Graduate prepared students
Quality in DE Programs is a Mix of Variables
Technology Resources/Services
Curriculum
Students Faculty
Evaluation
Quality Indicators
Who determines standards/indicators
u 1. Regional accrediting agencies --WICHE, SREB, MHEC
Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education
u 2. Nursing accrediting agencies ACEN, CCNE, CNEA
u 3. Nursing organizations—position papers
u 3. Other groups-- SLOAN-C, Quality Matters
General Indicators (Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s Interregional
Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education)
u Mission
u Institutional planning for DE
u Faculty governance of programs
u Curriculum
u Faculty/faculty support
u Students/student services
u Resources
u Evaluation
u Integrity
Levels of focus for quality indicators
Courses
Program
Institution
Choosing Indicators
u Appropriate for focus of program evaluation
u Appropriate for level of information needed
u Match with other indicators/standards used by the school of nursing
Mission
Quality indicator
u Mission supports distance education
What to evaluate
u Mission is to increase access and flexibility
u Mission is to serve particular populations of students
u Students, faculty, administrators can articulate the mission for distance education
u Information about the distance aspects of the program is on SON web site
Curriculum
Quality indicator
u Curriculum prepares graduates for current practice needs
u Curriculum is coherent, structured, sequenced
u Curriculum development process followed by faculty
What to evaluate
u Curriculum well designed and sequenced
u Comparable rigor to traditional program
u Courses developed by outside subject matter experts reviewed by faculty
u Curriculum evaluated and updated on a regular basis
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u Courses designed following 7 principles of best practice
What to evaluate:
u High expectations
u Time on task
u Active learning
u Interaction among classmates
u Interaction with faculty
u Prompt feedback
u Respect for diversity
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u Course design is consistent for all DE courses
u Technology supports the learning activities in the course
What to evaluate
u Look and design is consistent for all courses
u Tools are available to meet course learning activities
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u There are instructions for students about how to start and use the course
What to evaluate
u Students can easily access and navigate the course
u There is information and opportunity to practice using course tools
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u Syllabus provides course overview and policies
u Faculty welcome students to the course and provide opportunity for students to introduce themselves
u Faculty post “office hours”
What to evaluate:
u Syllabus includes learning outcomes, learning activities, assessments, and evaluation
u There is a sense of social presence and connectedness to the course
u Faculty are available to students with “office hours” (e-mail, phone, skype)
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u Course design promotes student progress in course
What to evaluate
u Faculty establish deadlines for assignments/module completion
u Faculty identify students at risk and provide support as needed
u Faculty hold office hours and communicate with students outside of course as needed
Didactic Courses
Quality indicator
u Learning activities are varied
What to evaluate:
u Activities promote active learning and collaboration and contribute to attaining the learning outcome
u Discussion is not the only learning activity employed
u “Lecture”, video, podcasts are supported with application activities
Clinical Courses
Quality indicator
u There is a connection between learning outcomes in clinical and didactic courses
What to evaluate:
u Clinical experiences support learning outcomes
u Students are supervised by appropriate personnel
u Preceptors, nurses are oriented to program, course, and course outcomes
Clinical Courses
Quality indicator
u Students receive clinical supervision from faculty/preceptors who are licensed in the host state
u BON host state accepts home state approval
u Faculty/preceptors have appropriate credentials
What to evaluate:
u Clinical faculty and preceptors are licensed and have appropriate credentials
u Faculty at home school are responsible for oversight of clinical faculty/preceptors
Clinical Courses
Quality indicator
u Home school provides oversight for clinical placement and supervision of students
u Home school facilitates clinical course that connects didactic and clinical experiences
What to evaluate:
u Contracts/agreements are in place that specify responsibilities of home school and clinical facilities
u Technology can be used to support oversight and student learning (on-line or virtual post-conferences; regular conferences by phone or teleconference)
Resources
Quality indicator
u Resources are adequate to support the DE program, curriculum, courses and student learning
What to evaluate:
u Students have access to online library resources
u Students do not need to come to campus to purchase books, supplies, equipment
u Student services, advising, study support, are available at a distance
Students
Quality indicator
u Students meet admission criteria for the program
u Students meet learning outcomes
What to evaluate
u Students meet admission standards
u Students are oriented to the course and distance learning approaches
u Students progress through curriculum
u Students know how to locate needed resources
Faculty teaching in didactic courses
Quality indicator
u Faculty in DE didactic courses are licensed in state in which they teach (home state) and meet educational requirements of the nursing program
What to evaluate:
u Faculty are oriented to the course, to the technology, and to the online pedagogy
u Faculty participate in curricular deliberations and decisions
u Adjunct faculty participate in course meetings
Faculty teaching clinical courses
Quality indicator u Faculty/preceptors in DE
clinical courses are licensed/credentialed in state in which they are teaching clinical
u Faculty/preceptors hold faculty appointment and are arranged by the program
u Faculty/preceptors are responsible to and supervised by the home state school
What to evaluate:
u Faculty are oriented to the curriculum, course, technology, and clinical agency
u There is a match between clinical experiences and course goals
u Faculty teaching is reviewed by students, peers, administrators
u Faculty participate in curricular deliberations and decisions
Faculty teaching clinical courses
Quality indicator
u There are contracts between the school of nursing and clinical agency
What to evaluate:
u Contracts specify roles and responsibilities of faculty and clinical agency
u Students know how to contact faculty
u Clinical faculty and agency know when and how to report “sentinel events”
Evaluation Plan
Quality indicator
u The evaluation plan gathers data about mission, curriculum, courses, curricular outcomes, students (APG data), faculty (qualifications, teaching) and is broad enough to gather data about distance education
What to evaluate:
u Evaluation plan accounts for DE
u Evaluation plan is implemented
u Data from evaluation plan are used for improvement
Conclusions, Concerns, Caveats
Conclusions…the evidence* shows:
u Distance education is comparable to traditional on- campus programs/courses
u Distance education creates access and flexibility for many
students u Distance education supports national goals of increasing
BSN and doctorally prepared nurses u Quality indicators used by nursing accrediting agencies for
DE programs are same as for on- campus programs
*Most evidence is from students and faculty in post-licensure programs
Conclusions…the evidence* shows:
u Students and faculty are satisfied with DE programs and courses
u When using the 7 principles of good education students
are more likely to complete courses, be socialized, and be satisfied, and meet learning outcomes
u Technology has improved DE delivery and better promotes
active learning, student progress tracking, faculty teaching skills, connections between clinical and didactic courses
u *Most evidence is from students and faculty in post-licensure programs
Concerns
u Some still question that DE programs are as effective as traditional programs
u There have been issues of faculty “presence” and effective teaching in DE courses
u There are concerns about student “presence” and effective learning
u Student academic integrity must be assured
u Lack of evidence about pre-licensure programs….need more “big data”
Caveats
u Consider “best practices” vs. “good practices” that are working
u Do not hold DE programs to higher standards than traditional programs
u Use existing quality indicators/standards and measures
u Keep the focus on teaching and learning, not technology
Caveats
u Consider how new technology has made teaching, evaluation, progress monitoring, testing easier and student-centered
u Allow for innovation; there are new models of clinical teaching; use of simulation; improved learning technology.
Summary
Key Points
u Distance education in nursing works
u Quality in DE programs is a synergistic mix of variables
u Using quality indicators for BON approval identifies best practices and areas for improvement
Questions
37
Bibliography
u 1.Gormley, D., Glazer, G., (June 7, 2012) "Legislative: Nursing Distance Learning Programs and State Board of Nursing Authorizations" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 17 No. 3.
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No3-Sept-2012/Nursing-Distance-Learning-and-State-Board-Authorizations.html u 2. US Department of Education, Office of Post Secondary Education
(2006). Evidence of quality in distance education programs drawn from interviews with the accreditation community.
http://www.ysu.edu/accreditation/Resources/Accreditation-Evidence-of-Quality-in-DE-Programs.pdf u 3. Cheney, D, Chaney, E. & Eddy, J. The Context of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education: Five Enabling Assumptions, Retrieved from h"p://www.uncg.edu/oao/PDF/Chaney%20A%20Primer%20HPP.pdf
Bibliography
u 4. Rubric for Quality Matters http://www.elo.iastate.edu/files/2014/03/Quality_Matters_Rubric.pdf
u 5. Mancini, M., Ashwill, J., & Cipher, K. (2015). A comparative analysis of demographic and academic success characteristics of on-line and on-campus RN-to-BSN students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 31: 71-76.